Sound-transmitting member.



L. STEINBERGER.

SOUND TRANSMITTING MEMBER.

APPLICATION HLED JUNE 23.19u.

Patented July .13, 1915.

- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

v 1 YNI/ENTO/f WITNESSES. j y/MWM I T T 8V (mu H 364W v ATTORNEYS WITNESSES L. STEINBERGERQ SOUND TRANSMITTING MEMBER. APPLICATION FILED sum: 23. 1911. -1,145,5535; Patented July' 13, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- INVENTOR ATTORNEYS UNITED srarns Parana onnicn.

Louis srninnnnenn, or ainvryonn, s. Y.

SOUND-TRANSMITTING MEMBER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J ilv 13 1915.

Application filed June as, 1911. Serial No. eaase'rl To all whom it ioag) concern Be it known/that I, LOUIS STEINBERGER, a

' citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city' ofNeW York, borough of Brooklyn, in the countyof Kings and State of provements having quite a diversity of independent applications and separate objects, among the latter being the following: I. To improve the resonating properties of sound transmitting members generally; II. To improve the acoustical properties of receivers; III. To strengthen the receiver casing along certain lines-in whichit is often subjected to undue strain due to shocks and jars; IV.

To so economize the material of the casing ib'y distributing a. given quantity of it to grip upon the receiver casing;

these sound waves must depart in two di'rccbetter advantage than usual; V. To improve the appearance of the receiver casing; and VI. To enable the operator to secure a firm One of the most importantpurposes of my invention is to improve theacoustical properties of the receiver which I do by giving to the'receiver casing a certain ap propriate form. In th1s connection I wish to call attention to CEItEllHfiCtS not generally known in acoustics, and particularly to acoustics as applied to the conditions asso-' ciated with telephone receivers. In the first place thereceiver generally comprises, among other things, a dlaphragm chamber bounded on one side by a diaphragm, and

from this diaphragm'the sounds are transmitted outwardly, that is, toward the ear of the person using the receiver. The Chit-' phra-gm, however, while intended to throw off sound waves traveling 'in one direction only,'does in fact throw ofi sound waves from each of itsfaces, and, consequently tions from the diaphragm. The sound waves which leave the inner face of the diaphragm spread out into the diaphragm chamber revibratin'g therein to a greater or lesser extent. The sound W' passing outwardly from thediapliragm, while, of course, 111- tendedprimariiy to reach the ear of. theopmeans.

' principles in acoustics, as will be understood from analogous facts in other artsdealing with soundcontrolled mechanisms.

It is well known, tor instance, thatin a musical instrument the vibration of a string,

a. diaphragm or a reed isreadily communicated to any solid body on which the vibrating member is mounted or to which it is secured. It is also well known'that certain shapes or forms for the solid body are more favorable than others in order to promote the vibration of the solid body or portion thereof j in consequence of the vibratory movements of the vibrating member. I take advantage oi. the principle here referred to and so apply it as to promote the efliciencv of the receiver. That is to say I give tlie receiver casing a special form .or shape, one purpose of which is to render the casing sonorous, or in other words to-make it act in some extent more or less analogous to the sounding board of a musical instrument.

In this connection it may be further noted that a vibratory member maycomn'mnicate vibratory motion to a solid body much larger than the vibratory member conferring the motion, and that the sonorous properties acquired by the solid body may be present in a very considerable measure, For instance, a telegraph wire strung along the tops of heavy telegraph poles, whether made of wood or metal and having shapes not specially adapting them as Soundboards or any equivalents therefor, nevertheless readily'receive, and in turn readily transmit to the ear, such vibratory .motions as may be communicated to the wire by mechanical Even if a slight wind is blowing across the wire and the wire thus thrown into vibration, the ear of the operator, if applied to the post, will readily hear sounds emanate directlyfrom the. post. These soundsaresuper-induced Within the post by' the vibratory action of the Wire. Again, a

personplacing his ear upon a railroad track may discover, by vibrations emanating directly from the latter, the proximity of a "train Which, however, is so far distant that sounds proceeding from it through'the air are inaudible. Indians, by placing an ear upon the ground, are able to detect the presence of an animal or a person Walking upon the ground, but located at a considerable distance. Facts of this kind could be multiplied indefinitely, but there appears to be no reason for pursuing this phase ofthe subject further. S uflice it to say that it is a principle Well recognized in acoustics that a vibratory body subjected to vibrations set up by the expenditure of very little energy has, under favorable conditions, a marked tendency to communicate analogous vibrations to any solid body with which it is con- -nected, and that the vibrations thus set up the transmission of speech, it is true that many of the vlbrations transmitted are of comparatively short duration. It follows, as a consequence, that a lineal measurement of sound waves corresponding to the vibrations of short duration'vvill show. that the sound Waves are in fact comparatively short. Nevertheless, in a telephone receiver the diaphragm and theparts associated therewith are very close together so that even if a sound vibration is communicated from the diaphragm to the casing, or to any other part of the receiver, and such casing or part in turn throws off sound Waves, these sound Waves in practice reach the ear ofthe operator so closely behind the respective sound Waves directly from the diaphragm that the elfect upon the operators ear is substantially the same as if the original or primary sound waves, proceeding directly from the diaphragm to the ear, were reinforced 'or strengthenedby'the sound Waves emanating directly from the receiver casing or other parts immediately associated with the diaphragm.

The receiver casings ordinarily used in this art are not at all suitable for promoting the effect just described. Generally, a re ceiver casing is made quitethick and so formed as to be grasped'easily and pressed against the ear, but has no shape specially adapted for subjecting the receiver casing or any part thereof to the vibration of the diaphragm so as to cause the receiver casing opportunity to vibrate, the result being that in. his hand, grasps it much as he would a cylindricalhandle, that is to say, his fingers and thumb freely encircle thereceiver casing and as far as practicable tends to envelop most of the outer surface of the latter, so that the skin and flesh of the'operators hand constitute a sound deadening material and the receiver casing has little or no sounds heard by the'operator and coming from thereceiver are produced entirely, or

almost so, by the diaphragm acting directly upon the air.

hat I seek to do is to promote the for mation of sound vibrations Within the receivercasing in order that this casing may act as a sound board and thus reinforce the vibratory action ofthe diaphragm. I further'seek to sub-divide the receiver easing into a number of articulate portions'which, though integral \vitheach other, are, nevertheless, adapted to vibrate independently of one another. By doing this I promote the formation of vibratory motion in one part of the receiver casing, even though an .an\ alogous part happens, owing to some accidental canse, to be'restricted in its vibratory motion.

Aside from the purpose above expressed,

I seek by giving the receiver casing a suitable form for carrying out the objects above stated, to strengthen the receiver casing and add to its'ornamentation, and finally enable it to be made With a minimum of material.

Referenceis to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in Which'similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, and in \vhich Figure 1 is a perspective showing my improved receiver casing and itscap Fig. 2 is section through the receiver casing; and

Fig. 3 is a substantially central vertical view through the receiver complete, the casingbeing in section. Y

The receiver casing comprises a body portion 3 having roughly a horn shape, and provided adjacent its smaller end with an enlarged portion 4, and at its larger end 12 with an enlarged annular portion 5. The

body portion 3 is further .provided with a.

number of ribs 6 spaced equidistant, each 'rib being of slightly less diameter at its end adjacent the smaller end of the body portion 3 than at its opposite end. The ribs are also spaced farther apart at theirflends adjacent the large annular portion 5. Each rib 6 is provided With rounded ends 7, 8 terminating close to .the respective ends of the body portion 3. A receiver cap 9 is secured upon:

the enlarged annular body portion 5 in the usual or any desired manner. The body bead 10 This aperture is used for leadingthe cords or other conductors into the casing. The body'portion 3 is provided intermediate the ribs 6 with grooves 11, the concave surfaces 'of' which merge into the convex surfaces of the grooves and form continuations thereof so that theexterior of the body portion 3 is fiuted,-that is, provided with a surface which, as seen in cross section (see Fig. '2) I is undulating in form. The inner surface of the body portion 3 is provided with grooves 11, as will be understood from Fig. 2. The grooves 11 are spaced apart, and between them are surfaces 12 of arcuate form, as seen in cross section; that is to say, the interior surface of the casing seen in cross section, as indicated in Fig. 2,. would be cylindrical except for the interruptions made by the grooves 11*. These grooves 11 being in juxtaposition to the grooves 11. the net result is that between the ribs 8 are thin walls each concave inside and also concave outside, these thin walls constituting very effective resonating members.

The receiver magnet is shown at 13, and at 14 is a cord (containing a conductor), the cord having two branches 1e which lead to binding posts 1%", the latter being in turn electrically connected by cords 1% with the electro-magnet which may be of the usual orany desired construction. Ainetallic spider 15 is provided with openings 16 and with a ring 1". A diaphragm 18 engages the ring 17 and is held in position by the cap 9.

lVhen the diaphragm vibrates so that sound waves pass backwardl'y from it into the receiver casing, these sound waves usually pass through the openings 16.

By virtue of the thin walls between the ribs 6 being resonating members, as above.

described, these members vibrate freely in consequence of the motions of the diaphragm and the acoustical disturbances of the air columnwithin the casing.

The operation of my device is as follows :The receiveris, to all outward appearances, used in much the same manner as any other receiver; that 'is to say, the operator, in order to hear-sounds reproduced by the receiver. merely grasps the receiver in his hand and presses the larger end of it to his ear. In doing this his hand of course touches the outermost portions of the ribs 6, but not the bottoms of the grooves or channels 11, which thus extend, unobstructed, entirely under the operators hand.

The vibrations set up in the diaphragm by electro-magnetic action. as well understood in this art, cause the diaphragm to throw the casing from vibrating fr,-

oif, .sound waves in two directions. These sound waves tend to cause the body portion 3 of the receiver casing to vibrate. The

pressure of the operators hand upon the outermost portion of the ribs 6 tends,.in a measure, to prevent the vibrations from developing in the body portion of the casing. The vibrations, however, are comparatively free to develop in those partsof the body portion located between the ribs 6; that is to say, thebottoms' of the grooves 11, where the material is comparatively thin, are not restricted directly by 'contact'with the oper ators hand and are, therefore, free to vibrate. Moreover, being separated from each other by the ribs the} are free to vibrate independently of each other. If, therefore, it happens that the pressure of a finger or any portion of the operators' hand prevents some one or more of the thin vibratory portions of I 1v, this does not prevent other sonorous p Ttions ,from properly performing their funtions. The result is that the receiver casing above described, performs to some extent the office of a sounding board or sound box. The vibratory portions of the casing; when actuated as stated, throw oif sound waves, and

these reach the ear'of the operator. I avail myself, too, in this connection of another principle of recent years recognized in acoustics, that is, if a sonorous member be given a horn-like shape or form, and their made to vibrate, the sounds which it produces are oftentimes more natural than the same sounds would be if made without the aid of the member of horn-like form. it will thus be seen that my receiver has roughly, the. form of a horn-like "memb-er ticularly to the secondary vibration set up .1n the resonating members bounded internally by the grooves 11 and externally by the grooves 11, the loudness and clearness of the sounds made by the telephone as a whole. are greatly'improved. I am aware that receivers having roughly a horn-like form have heretofore been operated and 'used. The operation above enunciated, however, was missing from the receivers mentioned, owing to the fact that such receivers did not have any portion or portions specially adapted for receiving and throwing off vibratory impressions.

It will be noted that the receiver casing is greatly strengthened by the ribs S. Each rib has a form specially adapted for enabling the receiver casing to resist the destructive eifects of shocks and ars. For lnstance, the

ioo

thickened and larger portions of the ribs are that ing of the ends of said ribs. the distribution "of the ribs so that the general curvature .thereof approximates the general curvature of the outer surface of the receiver casing in the general direction of the length there of, and the gradually increasing of the diameter of each rib toward the larger end thereof. Last, but not lea'st,'the form given to the receiver casing enables it to be made from a minlmum of material.

greater in number,

made from it are strength, and other things being equal, if

the receiver casings made from the material be constructed as above described.

I do not limit myself to the use of any particular material to be employed in the construction of this receiver casing, though I prefer to employ the material commonly known 1n commerce as electrose. Neither do I limit myself to any particular distribution of the ribs 6, nor to the articulate portions intermediate these ribs, nor to any exact shape of the receiver casing, except as limited by my claims. Neither do I limit myself to any particular use for my in vention, nor to its employment upon telephonic receivers, as obviously the same prin- 'ciples may be extended to other articles and apparatus to which the principles above described have any particular application.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is: I I

1. A receiver casing comprising a body portion provided externally with ribs, and with vibratory portions disposed intermediate said ribs.

2. A receiver casing comprising a sonorous body to be held in the hand, said sonorous body being provided externally with ribs extending in the general direction of its length.

. 3. A receiver casing comprising a sonorous body portion provided with articulate portions, said articulate portions being; thin for the purpose of serving as seats of vibratory motion.

4. A receiver casing comprising a longitudinal body portion provided practically throughout its length with vibratory portions independent of each other.

Pound for pound of the material, the receiver caslngs 5. A receiver casing comprising a body portion provided with ends. one end having a greater diameter than the other, portion being articulated and rem, n tat independent points for the purpose of facilitating the independent vibration of different parts of said body portion.

6. A receiver casing'comprising a body portion provided with an enlarged end having generally an annular form, said body portion being further provided with exter nal ribs integral with it and extending in proximity to said enlarged end, said ribs points adjacent said tively thinneralong said grooves and adapted to vibrate, and a diaphragm mounted within said casing for producing acoustical disturbances therein.

9. A sound transmitting member having generally a horn-like form and provided internally with grooves extending longitudinally thereof, the wall of said member being relatively thinner along said grooves and adapted to vibrate, and mechanism mounted within said member for producing acoustical disturbances therein. 10. A receivercasing comprising an elongated hollow body portion provided both internally and externally with grooves, the internal grooves mating the position of the external grooves in order to render the intervening portions of the walls of the easing sufliciently thin to vibrate, and a diaphragm mounted within saidcasing for the purpose of producing acoustical disturbances therein.

11. A receiver casing comprising a body portion provided externally with ribs, each of said ribs being wider at one end than at the other.

12. As an artlcle of manufacture,a sound transmitting member of' substantially hornlike form provided upon its external and internal surfaces with a plurality of grooves opposite to each other.

13. A receiver casing comprising a hollow body portion of substantially horn-like form,

provided on its outer surface and also on its inner surface with divergent longitudinally extending'ralsed portions, those on the outer surface being opposite to those on the inner surface throughout their extent.

14. A receiver caslng comprising a hollow body portion having a plurality of exterior surface irregularities between which are sound vibratory portions, the surface irregularities serving to protect the vibratory portions when the receiver is grasped in the hand.

15.-A receiver casing comprising a body portion provided externally with ribs extending longitudinally thereof, each of said ribs being Wider at one end than at the other, and the material of the casing being continuous intermediate the ribs and being made thinnest centrally between said ribs and gradually rounding outwardly into said ribs throughout the length of said ribs.

16. A telephone receiver casing comprising a hollow body having relatively thick 15 and heavy end portions and a relatively thin intermediate portion, and a plurality of ribs extending longitudinally of said body integral with the thin intermediate portion thereof and said ribs having their opposite ends merging into the heavy end portions of the body whereby to serve as reinforcing means for the thin intermediate portion of the body. 7

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of 2 two subscribing witnesses.

, LOUIS STEINBERGER.

Witnesses:

VALTON HARRISON, PHILIP D. RoLLHAUs. 

